follow me, down the rabbit hole
by zorojurotheronin
Summary: Silly, everyone here was waiting for you. ––under revision


**an.** hello. sorry for the lack of descriptions and possible writing failures. i know this is a disaster but couldn't take it out of my head. it's clearly obvious what inspired this.

* * *

In a hot, shiny summer day, when all the Karakura High students were going home, two figures wearing the school's uniform sat at the top of a hill on a large tree's shadow. One, princess-like, with long caramel hair and big doe amber eyes, who was reading a book; and the other, with jet black hair, brown eyes and the grace of a guardian dragon, resting her head in the princess' shoulder in her attempt to fall asleep, when something caught the princess' attention.

"Look Tatsuki-chan, there goes Kurosaki-kun!"

Tatsuki opened slightly one eye.

"Yes Orihime, there goes Ichigo."

And she closed it, again, trying to sleep.

"Tatsuki-chan, don't you wonder where does Kurosaki-kun go every afternoon?"

And she answered, eyes still closed.

"Orihime, please, I'm trying to sleep here."

"Oh, sorry Tatsuki-chan."

Twenty minutes later, Tatsuki noticed Orihime moving; so she opened her eyes, sat up straight, picked up Orihime's bag, lie down on the ground using the bag as a pillow and took a look at her friend.

"What is it, Orihime?"

"Uh, I saw something interesting moving down there, where Kurosaki-kun disappeared…"

Tatsuki let out a sigh and closed her eyes again.

"You can go and investigate it. But don't get in trouble."

She didn't need to open her eyes to know her friend was giving her one of her special smiles, the ones she reserved to a very few of her friends.

"Don't worry, I promise I won't get in trouble!"

And so she left.

* * *

What she saw when she made it to the bottom of the hill left her astonished. Beside a hole in the ground, a white, teal-eyed rabbit seemed to be waiting for her, looked at her with an annoyed expression, got a pocket watch on his paw (where did he get that from?) and jumped down into the hole.

And what did she do? The most rational thing.

She jumped down into the hole, too.

* * *

Two things registered in her mind. First, the fall didn't hurt, and second, the place she fell into seemed to be oddly familiar. A large room with a tiny door, and a table with nothing on it. She walked around, trying to figure out where she was, and examined the door.

 _'_ _I knew it! I found wonderland! Now, if I could find how to open this door…'_

And suddenly, interrupting her thoughts, the door was opened from the inside by a white haired, teal eyed boy with rabbit ears dressed in a black tuxedo with a pocket watch in his hand; who looked at her with annoyance.

"Are you coming in or what? I'm wasting time on here."

She tried to identify the boy, who figured out what she was thinking.

"Yes, I am the white rabbit. Now follow me."

And she did.

* * *

"Weren't there more doors?"

They were walking through the forest when a weird man with white hair and a smiling beak hiding in the trees started making faces at her company, calling him to go and play and offering him candies, so she asked her companion about it.

"Isn't that the dodo?"

After a minute without an answer, she let out a sigh and decided it was pointless to ask questions.

"Yes, there were more doors but I got rid of them because they were troublesome. And that's Ukitake-san. Just ignore him. He's trying to delay us."

She was surprised with the information, and tried once more.

"And where are we going?"

"Someone is waiting for us. You'll see. Now, if you can, please walk faster."

And she shut her mouth and obeyed the white rabbit.

* * *

They made it to a little pink cottage in a clearing and the rabbit made it to the door first, opened it and waited for her.

"We'll stop here for a moment. Take a rest if you need. We can't waste time."

And she made it to the inside, past the white rabbit, where a brunette, petite girl received them.

"Oh, you must be Orihime. Come with me. You must be tired."

She gaped at the girl.

"I don't mean to be rude, but how do you know my name?"

And the girl smiled at her.

"Silly, everyone here was waiting for you. That's why Shiro-chan is in a hurry. Or, as you know him, the white rabbit."

She turned to the white rabbit, but he wasn't there anymore. Slowly taking everything around her, she recognized the place, but couldn't put a finger on it.

"Come with me, Orihime-chan. I made you some cookies. You must be hungry."

She nodded her head and followed the brunette girl to what seemed to be the kitchen. The girl pointed her to a chair beside a table, where she sat, and the girl followed up quickly with a tray full of cookies and a glass of milk.

"Oh, where are my manners? My name is Hinamori Momo. It's so nice to meet you, finally. I've heard a lot about you."

Orihime, with her mouth full of cookies, nodded, swallowed and finally answered her.

"It's nice to meet you too, Hinamori-san! Oh, I have so much questions to ask! But the most important one, though, is this wonderland? Like in the Alice in wonderland movie? Wouldn't that make me… Alice?"

Momo let out a small giggle and looked at her with a smile.

"Every single one of your questions will be answered at its time. It's not my place to answer. But I can tell you a couple things. Yes, this is wonderland, but I've heard about 'that' wonderland. It's not so much like it. You'll see. And no. You're special, Orihime-chan. You'll see why. Soon."

Then she got up from the table and took the empty tray, Orihime drinking her milk when something snapped in her head.

"Wait, Hinamori-san! Won't this cookies make me giant or something?"

Momo turned at her and laughed at her scared expression, which made her puff out her cheeks and blush madly.

"No, of course not! They're normal cookies!"

And when the doorbell rang, Momo ran to the door, leaving Orihime alone in the kitchen for five minutes, and reappeared with company. A tall man with blond, short hair, a giant smirk and a green tail was looking at her. Orihime thought and finally spoke.

"Hello, stranger-san! Aren't you Bill the Lizard?"

The man gave her a weird look and let out a sigh, and he said, looking at Momo.

"That kid is ruining my reputation out there, I swear."

And looked at her again, moved forward, took her hand in his and smiled.

"No, I'm not 'Bill the lizard.' I'm Hirako Shinji. The lizard. And you, my dear first love, what's your name?"

She blushed so hard Momo thought she would faint.

"I-I'm Inoue Orihime. Nice to meet you, Hirako-san."

And suddenly, color left Shinji's face and he dropped Orihime's hand as fast as he could and took a couple steps back.

"Excuse me, Orihime-chan, but he wouldn't like me acting so familiar with you. Momo, why didn't you tell me it was _her?_ Oh, I'm soooo dead!"

And a yell was heard from upstairs.

"Hinamori, I have to leave! Where are my gloves?!"

* * *

"So, white rabbit-san, do you like carrots?"

"That's the most stereotypical question I've ever heard. And yes, I like carrots."

* * *

"So, now I'll meet Absolem, the blue caterpillar and he'll turn into a beautiful butterfly, right?"

Toshiro stopped in his tracks, looking around them.

"I forgot about him. Come with me. He'll like to meet you, I'm sure. Hurry up. We're late."

And she followed after him, gladly.

* * *

There he was, sitting up in a mushroom, drying his wings in the sun, when auburn hair caught his attention and he looked into the figure that was looking up at him from the ground.

"Welcome, welcome my dear. Would you mind telling me _who are you_?"

And she turned to the white rabbit and asked him,

"Wasn't he supposed to be a caterpillar? He's already a butterfly."

He shook his head. They're late.

"Aizen, this is Inoue Orihime. I'm sure you have heard about her."

Then, she faced him again and smiled.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Your smile reminds me of the sunshine. I'm looking forward to see you again."

Toshiro took his watch from his pocket, again, and shuddered.

"Ok, now we're going. We're late."

And he took Orihime's hand and started running.

"It was a pleasure to meet you too, Aizen-san!"

* * *

They were running through the forest, when something weird (like everything in there) happened. A grin started materializing besides her.

"So, you're finally here, Orihime."

And then, golden eyes, purple hair, purple cat ears and a cinnamon colored face appeared. She stopped.

"You must be the Cheshire Cat!"

Toshiro stopped and turned to her. The head moved to the top of a branch and a woman's body materialized, a woman with a purple cat tail.

"Well, that's how people call me. I'm Yoruichi. You must be Orihime."

Orihime nodded. Yoruichi then turned to face Toshiro.

"Are you heading to the tea party?"

He face palmed.

"Yes, we are. Are you coming with us?"

Her grin grew impossibly wide and she started disappearing.

"Of course I am. I wouldn't miss it for anything."

And they kept walking.

* * *

They made it to another clearing, where a mysterious cabin was. They walked up to the door and Toshiro stopped and turned around to face her.

"So, here's our next stop. We'll be here just for an hour, so we can follow the intinerary. Is that clear?"

"Yes, white rabbit-san."

And apparently the door opened itself, until a huge grin materialized and invited them inside.

It was a weird situation inside the cabin. A large table full of cups and teapots, too much different chairs and the oddest people sat at the table. Yoruichi took her hand and walked up to the table.

"That," she pointed to a man with a green-striped bucket hat, "is Urahara Kisuke."

Orihime gaped and yelled excitedly,

"The Mad Hatter!"

Kisuke took a fan (from who knows where), waved it in from of his face and smiled.

"Yes, Orihime-chan. Nice to meet you."

Then Yoruichi pointed to a man with his face full of tattoos, his red hair in a braid and red hare ears.

"I know Yoruichi-san! He must be the March Hare!"

Everyone kept quiet until said man decided to talk.

"I'm not the March Hare. I'm the _August_ Hare. That girl and her issues. Oh, I'm Abarai Renji by the way. Nice to meet ya, Orihime."

Kisuke approached her and took out a seat.

"You should take a seat, dear. Tessai-san, _the dormouse,_ will be here soon with the tea."

And she took her seat and took her tea with them.

* * *

Two hours later, Toshiro was almost jumping in his seat.

"What is it, white rabbit-san?"

Renji snorted.

"White rabbit-san? His name is Hitsugaya Toshiro."

She looked at him, disconcerted.

"Yes, that's my name. And we're late. So late. He's gonna have my head."

Renji sighed.

"We should leave soon. He's been waiting for her to come for so long he must be mad about it. Thanks for the forced jobs and the lack of food, Urahara."

Kisuke chuckled.

"It's no problem at all, Abarai-san! Feel free to come again! Oh, and Orihime-chan, I have a gift for you. Come with me."

And she followed him.

* * *

"No. She's not going with me dressed in _that_ thing. He'll have my head if he sees her like this!"

She pouted, almost crying.

"Do I look ugly, Hitsugaya-san?"

Toshiro went red.

"No, no, of course not. It's just… The dress is special. Yes. You know what, you should take it with you and wear it the day you meet him. He'll be happy."

Yoruichi laughed, Renji snorted and Kisuke grinned.

"Oh, I'm sure _he_ 'll be happy to see you in that dress," said Renji, "but go and change quickly. My wife is going to kick me if it takes me more time to arrive."

And she changed her clothes, back into her uniform.

* * *

They were going to walk into the forest, this time with Renji as company, when Orihime remembered she didn't say goodbye. She turned around and ran towards the cabin.

"Goodbye, Urahara-san!"

"Goodbye, Orihime-chan! I hope I see you again! Tell _him_ I say hi!"

"Goodbye, Tessai-san! Thanks for the tea!"

"It's no problem, Orihime-dono!"

A tattooed arm yanked her towards the forest.

"Let's go, Orihime. Toshiro's freaking out with that watch."

And she did.

* * *

"Abarai-san, can I ask you some questions?"

"You just did."

She giggled.

"Where are we going?"

"To the white queen's castle."

"Why is this place like this?"

"Because we're all insane compared to standard people."

"Why isn't everything like in Alice's movie?"

Renji let out a sigh and shook his head, Toshiro's eye twitched.

"Alice was a girl who fell here a long time ago. She was a nuisance. She was smitten with _him_ , but _he_ wasn't interested in her. And one day she left, no one knew about her whereabouts. Until _he_ decided to investigate up there and found out she exaggerated everything and a couple of movies were made about her 'adventures' in Wonderland. She's the reason you thought I was the _March_ hare."

Orihime looked at him with an understanding look.

"Abarai-san, who's that _him_ everyone's talking about?"

Toshiro looked at Renji with an alarmed expression.

" _He_ is the Knave of Hearts, of course. I've known him since we were little. _He_ 's been waiting for you for seven years. Not really my place to tell you. But I know Rukia can tell you a bit more."

"I don't mean to be rude, but who's Rukia-san?"

Renji grinned.

"My wife, the White Queen."

Orihime gaped.

And they kept walking.

* * *

Beside them, a dog-like creature with a broom as its head was running.

"Oh, so that one was real."

Renji chuckled.

"Yeah. But he wasn't erasing any paths."

* * *

It was really late when they made it into the castle. A petite woman with a jet black hair, purple eyes, a white dress and wearing a little crown was waiting for them at the doors.

And then, something happened.

The woman ran towards them, one foot in the air, and collided with Renji's face, sending him to the ground.

"You idiot! Why did it take you so long to come home?"

Renji rubbed his face and sat up.

"That bastard didn't want to let me go. I'm here because Orihime appeared with Toshiro."

The woman turned at her and gaped at her sight.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry! I'm Kuchiki Rukia, or as you should know me, the White Queen. Welcome to my castle, Orihime. Let's get you a dress. And some food."

And the Queen tug her hand and dragged her into the castle, leaving outside a stunned Toshiro and a hurt Renji.

* * *

Orihime followed the Queen through the castle, where she was becoming acquainted with her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the Queen was very fond of the color white. Ahead, the Queen opened a door and walked into a room.

"Come here, Orihime."

The room was finely decorated, like she was waiting for her to come. This left Orihime thinking.

"Oh, I got the perfect dress for you."

Rukia opened another door that seemed to be a walk-in closet and came out with a long, white dress.

"This one will do. Go and change. You don't want to be in your uniform forever, do you?"

"No, of course not. Excuse me, Kuchiki-san."

"It's ok, Orihime. I'll wait for you in the kitchen. It's dinner time."

How did the Queen know her exact measures, she didn't know. But everything was getting weirder and weirder.

* * *

She got out of the room and got lost quickly. The place was huge. She decided to ask a tall, stoic looking man she found on the hallway.

"Excuse me, would you tell me where's the kitchen?"

"Third door on the right."

"Thank you, um… What's your name?"

"Kuchiki Byakuya."

"Kuchiki… Like Kuchiki-san, the Queen?"

"Yes. She's my little sister."

"Oh, okay. Um, by the way, Kuchiki-san, why are you standing like a statue?"

Byakuya shivered.

"I'm hiding from my niece."

And she nodded her head and walked up to the kitchen.

* * *

"Kuchiki-san, do you have a daughter?"

Rukia stopped mid-eating a piece of cake.

"You met Ichika? Please tell me she didn't do anything weird."

Orihime blushed.

"No, I didn't. I met your brother in the hallway and he told me he was hiding from her."

Rukia smiled and kept eating her cake. Orihime decided to let her doubts known.

"Kuchiki-san, I asked Abarai-san some things and he told me it wasn't his place to answer, and told me you could tell me a little more."

Rukia looked at her with an astonished expression.

"What would you like to know?"

"Oh. Um. Why am I here? I mean, everyone knows me, apparently, and it seems like they were all waiting for me. And who's that Knave of Hearts Abarai-san mentioned? And please tell me I'm not in the middle of a war. I don't even know how to hold a sword! The little blue men would make fun of me!"

"Orihime. Calm down. There's no war. And sword fighting is easy, even Ichika could teach you, if you like. As for the other stuff… I can't tell you exactly who the Knave of Hearts is. You'll see for yourself. I'll tell you a story."

Orihime nodded.

"The Knave of Hearts has been a lonely soul as long as I remember. I mean, it's not like he doesn't have a family, because he does. He's the son of the King and the Queen of Hearts, and Tweedledee and Tweedledum are his sisters. He, Renji and I have been great friends since childhood, and, well, obviously Renji and I got married years ago, he doesn't want to be called King and prefers to be the August Hare and travel everywhere with the Mad Hatter and having tea parties and stuff, but he's still an amazing husband and a great dad.

One day, like six years ago, the Knave came here to visit and told me about how he was going up there, to the 'real' world, and fell in love with a certain girl. I was so happy for him I went to the other castle and told his parents about it. He wasn't happy about it, because his dad went crazy and started crying and making a really awkward scene and yelling 'finally, I'll have a daughter-in-law!' and was embarrassing him, but nonetheless the King supported him.

He made a façade and I, mixing things and making potions, long story; came up with a thing that make him look younger. So, every morning he went to the 'school,' I think that's how you call it, and came back when classes ended. And you should have seen him! Normally he's like, emotionally crippled, but every afternoon he told me more and more about her. And five years ago, something terrible happened to the girl; so he swore to himself he would protect her. He even left one of his knights up there, protecting the girl so he wouldn't be neglecting his duties. Everyone in the two kingdoms of Wonderland knows about her."

Orihime was almost crying at Rukia's story, but she kept listening.

"So, finally, he grew impatient and sent the White Rabbit to go and get the girl down here."

Orihime put two and two together and realized.

"Am I the girl?"

"Yes. You are _the_ girl."

"So, I am the girl. I suppose the thing that happened was Sora's, my onii-chan's death. I know I can't ask who the Knave is, but, who's the knight who protected me up there?"

Rukia smiled at her.

"Your best friend, Tatsuki, of course. Now, it's too late, you should go to sleep. A long trip is waiting for you tomorrow."

"Were am I going now, Kuchiki-san?"

The Queen put on a serious face and asked her.

"Orihime, if you have to take the choice, would you stay here in Wonderland?"

She stood silent for a long time, thinking about it.

"I would miss everyone, and there's someone I'd like to say goodbye to… but yes, I would stay here! This place is amazing!"

"Then it's set! Tomorrow you're going to the King of Heart's castle!"

And she nodded.

* * *

Rukia led her to her room, gave her everything she needed to be comfortable, from clothes to pillows and sat beside her in the bed.

"Kuchiki-san, what if I don't love him as much as he loves me? It would break his heart and I would feel guilty about it!"

Rukia smiled softly at her.

"I know you will. He's been waiting for someone like you for so long. Now, sleep, Orihime."

And that she did.

* * *

On the following morning, Rukia gave her a backpack to gather her things and walked up with her to the front doors, where the White Rabbit was waiting for her, impatiently, with his clock in his hand.

"Here she is, quit giving me that look."

Two figures approached them beside, the two of them with red hair and one taller than the other. She recognized one of them as the August Hare, and saw something familiar in the seemingly three year old kid beside him with red hair and violet eyes.

"Goodbye Orihime, tell him I say hi."

"Goodbye, Abarai-san! I will!"

Orihime kept looking at the kid, trying to find out who she was. Rukia realized quickly.

"Orihime, this is our daughter, Ichika."

The kid tugged at Rukia's dress trying to get her attention.

"Mom, is she the girl we've waiting for? Why didn't you tell me she was here? I wanted to play with her!"

Rukia held her daughter in her arms.

"Yes, she is. But she has to go now. Why don't you go inside and play hide and seek with uncle Byakuya instead?"

Ichika nodded and Rukia let her down. Orihime giggled.

"Well Orihime, you must go now. I'll see you later."

And she nodded and followed the white rabbit, again.

* * *

They made it to the red castle in the afternoon, both tired and hungry. Two girls, one with light brown hair and the other with jet black hair waited for them in the gates.

"Is that her, Karin?"

"I doubt so. He wouldn't get a girl like that ever."

Orihime blushed.

"Hello, you must be Orihime-chan. I'm Yuzu, she's my sister Karin. Nice to meet you!"

She smiled at them, fondly.

"Nice to meet you too, Yuzu-chan, Karin-chan!"

"You may know us as Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Come, follow us, otou-san is waiting for you!"

And she did.

* * *

She followed the twins, who were showing her the castle. It wasn't as big as Rukia's, but it was still cozy and well decorated, though the color red was predominating in almost everything. Karin and Toshiro excused themselves and went to another hallway, so Yuzu and Orihime made a turn and went out to a balcony with an overview of the well-kept gardens full of red rose bushes.

"This is okaa-san's garden. She tends every single one of the bushes herself. She told me to wait for her in here."

And then, the door behind them opened, and a beautiful light brown haired woman came from the inside. She had very gentle eyes, Orihime noted, and was wearing a long, red gown and a crown on her head.

"Hello, Orihime-chan. I'm glad to meet you, finally. I'm Masaki, or as everyone knows me, I'm the Queen of Hearts. Now follow me, please."

And she smiled at her and followed her.

* * *

They stopped at a double, big red door decorated with red hearts.

"This is the throne room. My husband, the king, wants to meet you too. Please don't be afraid by his antics. He's… excited to meet the lovely girl who got our son's heart."

Orihime gulped and nodded her head. She felt nervous.

 _'_ _What if I'm not what everyone expected me to be? Will they have my head?'_

Apparently, Masaki felt her discomfort and grabbed her shoulders.

"Everything will be okay, sweetheart. Just be yourself."

And she nodded and stepped inside of the room.

* * *

The King sat in his throne, mouth agape at the sight.

"You're Orihime-chan, right?"

The suddenly quiet girl just nodded her head. The King stood up from his chair and walked up in front of her, and grabbed her hands in his. The Queen moved, too, and stood beside him.

"I'm glad, so glad, you have no idea. My son is a lucky bastard."

"Language, dear."

"Oh, sorry Orihime-chan. Let me introduce myself. I'm Kurosaki Isshin, the King of Hearts."

Orihime's eyes widened and she was red as everything in the castle.

 _'_ _Kurosaki… that means… the Knave of Hearts is…'_

The door behind her opened. A man with orange hair, chocolate-brown eyes wearing a black armor smiled at her.

"Yo."

"Kurosaki-kun!"


End file.
